Rajon Rondo's epochal Instagram post has been analyzed to death over the past 48 hours, but one line apparently resonated with more than a few Bulls.

“My vets didn't pick and choose when they wanted to bring it,” Rondo wrote. “They brought it every time they stepped in the gym whether it was practice or a game. They didn't take days off.”

There's no way to interpret that other than as a direct shot at Dwyane Wade, who has been on his own schedule all season, which everybody — Wade, Fred Hoiberg, other players — will readily admit. At 35 years old, Wade is focused on preserving his body and has implemented a maintenance plan similar to the one he employed the past few years in Miami. He calls the shots on when he sits out practice, and has sat out the second halves of four of the team's back-to-backs this season to rest.

In the Bulls' team-wide heart-to-heart meeting on Friday morning, before their shootaround ahead of an embarrassing 100-88 loss to the Miami Heat, several of the younger players took issue with Wade not leading by example in his practice schedule, said veteran power forward Taj Gibson.

“Young guys just want a little bit more from him,” Gibson said Saturday after the Bulls practiced at the Advocate Center. “He brung it today. He pushed the young guys. And that’s a sign that that meeting did a little something. It’s all about positive. We’re not trying to have any negative aspects, anything like that. We got everybody against us right now. The only people who are going to help us out of this is ourselves. And we understand that. And [John Paxson] said it in the meeting yesterday, too.”

Forward Taj Gibson, the longest-tenured Bull, remains on coach Fred Hoiberg's side as the team tries to stabilize after a chaotic few days. (Dennis Wierzbicki/USA TODAY Sports)

Wade, for his part, has defended his approach in the wake of the recent criticism from Rondo, which came one day after Wade and Jimmy Butler called out the rest of their teammates for a lack of effort in Wednesday night's loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

“I could take that as a personal attack,” Wade said Friday afternoon. “But what’s that going to do for me? Come in and fight Rajon because he said his vets practiced every day? I’m 35. I’m not practicing every day. That’s very clear. Everyone has their own things. My vets did different things too.”

The Bulls are in the midst of a tough stretch between now and the All-Star break. After one more winnable home game Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers, who will be without center Joel Embiid, they head out on a six-game road trip that includes games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. After they return home, they play two of the Eastern Conference's best teams, the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, heading into the break.

If they're going to get their season back on track, the time is now.

Gibson viewed Friday's meeting as a positive step, an opportunity for everyone to say what they wanted to say, a sentiment several other players have echoed in the past day.

“I was a little took back with how mature they were,” Gibson said of the young players on the roster. “They were real mature in their message and what they wanted to get across. The veterans didn’t take any negative aspects from it. They just looked at it, evaluated it and you see today in practice they brought it. We responded in a different way of just challenging the young guys. That’s what they wanted. They wanted to be challenged more, wanted more from their vets.”

Gibson, who has been one of Hoiberg's most vocal defenders in his year-and-a-half as the Bulls' coach, also shed some light on what has become a controversial topic around the Bulls: Hoiberg's hold on the locker room, or lack thereof. Rather than simply giving a boilerplate defense, Gibson praised Hoiberg for admitting in the meeting that he's been at times too lenient on his team.

“His message was, ‘I’m going to hold you guys more accountable,'” Gibson said. “‘I give you guys a lot of leeway because I care about you and I understand how hard it is to be an NBA player and to go home at night with so much on your back. I was there. I’ve been there. But now I have to do a better job.’ And I can respect that. When somebody comes forth and understands they need to do a better job, that lets you know that he’s still riding with you and he’s going to push himself and he’s going to push you. And you have to do the same thing and push yourself and help him and help the team.”

Of course, Hoiberg said much of the same last year and the Bulls still missed the playoffs.

It's been as much of an adjustment for the Bulls' longer-tenured players going from Tom Thibodeau to Hoiberg as it has for the coach making the transition from college to the professional level, but Gibson thinks Hoiberg has handled it well.

“I think he's got control of the locker room,” Gibson said. “He just gives guys a lot of freedom, you know what I'm saying? When he first came here, people said our team needed a much easier kind of guy. We had Thibs, like a drill sergeant. He told you you can play even when you're extremely hurt. We went out there and we played hard. Was it a good thing for us sometimes? No, but that was just a different kind of coaching staff. Thibs was in the NBA for a long time. He learned from his predecessors and guys in front of him. Fred is coming from college, this is his second year being around a whole different bunch of guys that have been in the NBA a long time, guys that are on their way to the hall of fame, guys that have won championships. Fred is just trying to deal with all these different perspectives and then trying to put guys in the right positions. At times, it's rough.. You've got guys that's constantly complaining, guys want to play. It's tough being an NBA coach. People don't understand that.”

Perspective from veterans like Gibson, who has been with the Bulls his entire eight-year career and is the only holdover from the Vinny Del Negro era, can be valuable in navigating tough stretches like this one. He says he's seen worse, and he believes the Bulls' current tailspin is salvageable.

“Of course,” Gibson said. “I think so. You look at … we’re fortunate to be in the East. We’re fortunate to have everybody going through the same problems we’re going through. This is a blessing, a great opportunity. We make a great living for ourselves. We have to go out and enjoy it, while we still can.”

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Sean Highkin covers the Chicago Bulls and the NBA for The Athletic. He also co-hosts the Locked On Bulls podcast. Sean has previously written for Bleacher Report, USA Today, Sports On Earth and NBC Sports. Follow Sean on Twitter @highkin. If you liked this story, subscribe today for access to all of our ad-free content. Plans start at just $4.99 per month.